Date:	Saturday 13 October 1956
Time:	00:30
Type:	Gloster Meteor F Mk 8
Owner/operator:	41 Sqn RAF
Registration:	WA855
MSN:
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Merton Court School playing field, Rectory Lane, Sidcup, Kent -   United Kingdom
Phase:	Approach
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	RAF Biggin Hill, Bromley, Kent
Destination airport:	RAF Biggin Hill, Bromley, Kent
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
Gloster Meteor F.Mk.8 WA855, 41 Squadron, RAF: Written off (destroyed) 13/10/56 - Crashed at Merton Court School playing field, Rectory Lane, Footscray, Sidcup, Kent, after the pilot bailed out following engine failure. Pilot - Flying Officer Roger Thomas Coulston - died of injuries sustained.

The pilot switched to G.C.A. on approach to Biggin Hill at a distance of about 8 miles and was seen to be flying very slowly at about 1500 feet. It then made two very fast rolls to starboard, coming out at a much lower level. It then turned to port, away from the built-up area of Sidcup, still flying very slowly. At about 200 feet the canopy was jettisoned and the pilot ejected.

Ejecting at tree-top height as the aircraft inverted for the last plunge into the ground, he fell through trees and landed on the Rectory driveway, breaking his left-leg top and bottom on impact, and sustaining other injuries to his back and feet, plus a pulled muscle in his groin. He had no other internal injuries. He tried to stand up but was encouraged not to by a number of men who rushed to help.

The wife of the Rector came with a knife to cut away the parachute harness. They made a pillow of the parachute to rest his head on. He was smoking a cigarette. The ambulance was on-scene quickly and within 15 minutes he was in Queen Mary's Hospital in Sidcup.

He died of a complication relating to an old sports injury sustained while at school years earlier, which was opened up by the impact, causing a suspension of bone-marrow to enter his blood-stream, causing an embolism. He was 22 years of age. His parents were flown up to Sidcup by the RAF in time to visit him in hospital.

He had been grounded pending the decision of a court martial seven weeks before (for low-flying) and had just started flying again. He was fully trained on single-engined aircraft (Hunter, Vampire), but it is unlikely that he had been properly converted to the twin-engined Meteor and his total flying time on it was 5 hrs 20 minutes.

Following the result of the Court Martial (he was given a reprimand and returned to duty), on Thursday 11th October 1956 his commanding officer, Sqn Ldr James Castagnola, gave him a dual check in a Vampire T.11. He also went on a check trip with the squadron instrument-rating examiner. That afternoon, Roger carried out a 50-minute sortie in a Hunter Mk.5 and the next day a further sortie in a Hunter Mk.5 of about 1 hr 30 minutes. On Saturday 13th October he did a final Hunter sortie of 40 minutes before the flight in the Meteor F.8 that proved to be his last.

Why Meteor WA855 behaved the way it did before crashing has never been established. All attempts to explain it were inconclusive. A number of theories were put forward, but no ultimate proof could be found, either in the wreckage of the aircraft, eye-witness statements, or the pilot's own words (as he was unable to provide a thorough statement before passing away). Loss of control was evident and the Court of Enquiry concluded that engine failure of some sort could have caused it, but no primary cause could be proved, so it remains a mystery.

Two young eye-witnesses, who went on to be pilots themselves, have vivid memories of seeing the plane as it passed by, just before impact. They state that it was not stalling, but was 'coming in to land' in Rectory Lane. Whatever the cause, it seems the pilot had lost faith in the aircraft and was preparing a deliberate crash-landing to avoid casualties.

*Investigation report suggests that engine failure wasn't the cause as both were rotating at high speed and under power upon impact

Crew:
Flying Officer (3516835) Roger Thomas COULSTON, RAF (pilot, aged 22) - ejected from the aircraft late and sustained severe injuries when his parachute failed to fully deploy in time. He died in hospital the following day.

To a policeman at the scene he said: "The aircraft got into trouble. I pulled the ejection seat and baled out. That is all I remember. I left it late in baling out because of the houses." And to the Surgical Registrar at Queen Mary's Hospital, Sidcup, he said that he had ejected, and something about the engines not working, but his main concern was to know whether anyone else had been hurt.

The people of Sidcup expressed their relief and thanks as news of the pilot's bravery spread.

Air Marshal Sir Thomas G. Pike expressed the attitude of the R.A.F. as follows: "He remained at the controls of his aircraft when he could have ejected at a safe height, thereby deliberately jeopardising his own safety, and undoubtedly averting major damage and possibly serious loss of life on the ground. His was a selfless action at a time of great stress in the air - an action in the highest traditions of the Royal Air Force."

In February 1957, the Queen issued a Commendation for Brave Conduct to Flying Officer Roger Thomas COULSTON (3516835), Royal Air Force (Deceased), "For courage and sense of duty in remaining at the controls of his crashing aircraft until it was clear of a built-up area, thereby losing his life."

1. Halley, James (1999) Broken Wings – Post-War Royal Air Force Accidents Tunbridge Wells: Air-Britain (Historians) Ltd. p.183 ISBN 0-85130-290-4.
2. Royal Air Force Aircraft WA100-WZ999 (James J Halley, Air Britain, 1983 p 9)
3. Category Five; A Catalogue of RAF Aircraft Losses 1954 to 2009 by Colin Cummings p.217
4. 41 Squadron ORB (Operations Record Book)(Air Ministry Form AM/F.540) for the period 1/1/1956 to 31/12/1960: File AIR 27/2775/1 at https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/D8430158
5. National Archives (PRO Kew) File BT233/364: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C424485
6. National Archives (PRO Kew) File AVIA 5/35/S2844: https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C6578624
7. http://www.ukserials.com/losses-1956.htm
8. http://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=663.0
9. https://cvths.wordpress.com/2013/09/02/meteor-crashes-near-school-october-1956/
10. Photo of wreckage: https://cvths.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/wh833834-3.jpg
11. http://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=3950.0
12. http://www.ukserials.com/results.php?serial=WA

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
31-May-2008 14:51	JINX	Added
07-Jun-2008 04:08	JINX	Updated
06-Mar-2010 22:49	angels one five	Updated [Location, Source, Narrative]
03-Oct-2013 14:03	Anon.	Updated [Phase, Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative]
17-Feb-2014 18:52	John Vaughan	Updated [Source, Narrative]
12-May-2015 17:53	BlB	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Narrative]
20-Apr-2018 16:43	Anon.	Updated [Narrative]
30-Jun-2018 10:05	danc	Updated [Time]
18-Jan-2020 19:31	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Operator, Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative]
19-Jan-2020 11:56	stehlik49	Updated [Aircraft type, Operator, Destination airport, Operator]
18-Feb-2020 17:39	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Destination airport, Source]
13-Jul-2020 21:40	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Phase, Source, Narrative]
13-Jul-2020 21:40	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]
13-Jul-2020 21:41	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source]
13-Jul-2020 21:47	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Location, Narrative]
13-Jul-2020 21:49	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Source]
13-Jul-2020 21:54	Dr. John Smith	Updated [Narrative]
19-Jan-2021 16:48	Danc	Updated [Narrative]
25-Jan-2021 16:03	Anon.	Updated [Narrative]
25-Jan-2021 16:03	danc	Updated [Narrative]
02-Feb-2021 20:46	danc	Updated [Narrative]